


and it's called black magic

by princegrantaire



Category: The Libertines
Genre: Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, F/M, M/M, Magic, Magic-Users, Multi, Witches
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-12
Updated: 2016-03-12
Packaged: 2018-05-26 07:34:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,624
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6229357
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/princegrantaire/pseuds/princegrantaire
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Carl and Edie are witches, Peter is their cat, who might or might not be hiding something.</p>
            </blockquote>





	and it's called black magic

**Author's Note:**

> i'm supposed to work on other stuff but i just couldn't stop thinking about this concept (even though i'm worried it'll be horribly unpopular given the main pairing) i hope you all like it!

Every single time Carl comes back from gathering herbs, which he does quite often thanks to Edie’s increasing fascination with potions, he finds two teacups on the rickety kitchen table. He’s never asked Edie about them but they’ve been the cause of an ongoing investigation (in Carl’s mind) for quite some time now.

It’s not the teacups themselves that bother him, it’s the fact that they don’t have any neighbours and Edie’s sisters live miles away. He can’t imagine who Edie is having tea parties with on what could very well be a daily basis while he’s gone. Unless she has suddenly gotten into the habit of having tea with the cat, which seems unlikely, there’s no explanation for the whole situation.

One of the teacups always has small traces of lipstick on it, which has understandably led Carl to believe that it’s the one Edie uses, but the other one remains a complete mystery. Despite what one might believe given Carl’s childhood dream of being a detective, he _loathes_ mysteries, especially ones that leave him unsettled and nervous for days on end.

Besides “ _The Curious Case of The Teacups_ ”, as Carl has entitled it in the small leather-bound journal he keeps, he and Edie live a relatively peaceful life in the small cottage they’ve claimed as their home. Carl’s attempts at magic are quite possibly the only thing that disturbs them often enough to be acknowledged.

Carl’s never been particularly inclined towards magic but then again he often thinks he’s never been particularly inclined towards _anything_. Still fate had been kind to him, as she so rarely is, giving him the chance to meet Edie, who comes from a long and powerful line of witches, and fall in love with her.

Even after all those years (six, in fact, and weirdly enough it feels like a lifetime) Carl still can’t believe everything Edie’s done for him. Not just her constant, if fruitless, attempts at trying to improve his magic but big things, like moving away from her sisters, from the castle where she was most powerful, to live with him, all that still baffles Carl. He can’t remember ever liking people doing grand gestures for him, has always doubted he’s worth that much.

Thinking about all that almost always manages to put the teacups affair into perspective and even if he’s still left somewhat unsettled by the whole thing, if not suspicious, he still can’t bring himself to do anything about it.

In fact, it takes him another two weeks to even bring it up.

—

They’ve got a small shop in the dreary, little town at the edge of the woods. It’s mostly avoided by locals but it’s been a great hit with tourists, which has always surprised Carl since he finds the whole thing a bit cheesy (“We’re witches, not _magicians_ ,” he had scoffed that very first time he had seen it).

The shop is squeezed between two rather unremarkable buildings, one of them a pub that Carl distinctly remembers being kicked out of once when he was still new around here, and it has a purple door as well as deep crimson curtains. The windows, covered in Carl’s very own handwriting since Edie claimed it was much more remarkable than hers, promise _Palms Readings_ , _Love Potions_ and _Magic_.

Carl has never been particularly fond of the idea of selling their (Edie’s) powers as cheap tricks to entertain the public but considering it’s one of the few, if not the only, things that could be considered tourist attractions in the town it’s been quite successful and they’ve both been reluctant to give it up. Even so, the moments when they’ve actually got costumers are few and far between and they spend their days there rather quietly.

It’s during one of those quiet moments that Carl decides to finally bring up _The Curious Case of The Teacups_.

Edie’s dressed as some kind of fortune teller, which is what she usually wears at the shop as she claims it goes with the whole atmosphere, and she’s leaning against the counter, petting the cat, when Carl finds her.

The cat, Peter, is more or less Edie’s familiar but Carl’s never really understood the whole concept behind that, can’t quite imagine how a black, fluffy cat with huge eyes and an almost constant need for attention would help anyone with their magic. He does love Peter dearly though, nearly as much as he loves Edie.

“So…I think we need to talk,” he finally says.

Edie looks up at him expectantly and it occurs to Carl he has no idea how he could ever address this entire situation without sounding horribly paranoid (though he suspects that would be a bit difficult considering Edie knows well enough that he’s paranoid about most things).

“Actually nevermind! I have to go…and…”

“Carl-”

Carl’s out of the door before he gets to hear the rest of what she has to say. He finds himself faced with the realization that he might just need to live the rest of his life like this, vaguely nervous and suspicious, because he might never find the right way to bring up what’s been bothering him and even if he does, what if it turns out to be something with a completely logical explanation? He couldn’t live with that kind of embarrassment.

The plan, so far, is to get home in the evening and pretend nothing is wrong, with a little luck Edie would have forgotten about Carl’s odd behaviour from earlier and not even question the entire thing.

—

Carl does arrives home in the evening, not particularly late but the dying light makes it hard enough to find his way through the woods, but the rest doesn’t quite go according to plan.

As soon as he opens the door, which for once doesn’t creak, Carl finds himself overwhelmed with a feeling he can’t quite place, a sort of static energy that promises nothing good. It occurs to him a moment later that he can actually hear voices from somewhere inside the house, he recognizes one of them as Edie’s but the other one is wholly unfamiliar, though soft-sounding and not particularly malicious.

Carl wonders whether the teacup mystery is finally about to be solved but then again at this point he’s not entirely sure he even _wants_ to know the truth.

He manages to make his way somewhat silently to the kitchen, at least until he trips over something (possibly one of the cat’s toys) and practically bursts through the door. He gasps at the sight that awaits him in the kitchen.

Edie and an unfamiliar young man are staring at him with wide eyes. Carl is also gaping at them while unsuccessfully trying to get up from the floor.

“I knew you liked tall men!” Carl shouts suddenly.

“What?!” Edie says even as she, rather reluctantly, helps Carl get up.

The young man, who strangely enough reminds Carl of their cat, is still staring at them, seemingly startled.

“Who are you?” Carl asks, trying to seem as menacing as possible.

The man practically _hisses_ at Carl and disappears in a puff of something that might be smoke. Carl glances at Edie then back at the spot where her mysterious friend had disappeared, only to realize that their cat is now staring up at him.

“You should have let me explain,” Edie says, sounding exasperated. She picks up the cat with one arm and takes Carl’s hand, leading him to the living room.

“So you were actually having tea parties with the cat?”

“They’re _hardly_ parties and I was trying to get to known him,” Edie says as she sits down on the couch, the cat still in her arms. “What did you even think was happening?”

Carl can’t say what he had assumed. Now that he thinks about it, without being blinded by all his fears, he realizes the whole situation is a bit ridiculous, he should have known Edie would never cheat on him.

“He’s never turned into a human in front of me?” he asks instead.

“It’s a new thing, alright? I didn’t know until a month ago or so. I think he’s a bit nervous about it.”

Edie puts the cat, Peter, down once she finishes talking. A moment later the human Peter appears and Carl doesn’t really know what to say. In fact, he’s a bit hurt that Peter doesn’t seem to trust him enough to be in his human form around him without Edie.

“I liked meowing at you,” Peter says and it seems to be meant as a response to Carl’s earlier question. Carl starts laughing, out of shock possibly,

Peter’s voice is incredibly soft and there’s something very enchanting about it. The rest of him resembles his cat form near perfectly, he’s got the same messy, black hair and chocolate eyes, the only surprise is just how pale his skin is and the fact that he’s wearing what Carl is almost certain are his clothes, the fact that they’re all too short on Peter gives that away almost instantly.

“How come you’re not wearing clothes as a cat?” Carl asks.

He’s been living with a witch for years now and yet he’s still shocked by the whole having a conversation with their cat situation.

Peter shrugs and mumbles something about magic before pulling both Edie and Carl into a hug.

As it turns out Peter doesn’t quite know how strong he is as a human and his hugs prove to be a bit too much for Carl but even so, Carl finds himself thinking that he’s actually incredibly happy at the moment. Maybe there’s a future for him, Edie and this new version of Peter.


End file.
